Inspiration - twice a year

[Richard M. Coda]

I read your "Inspirations" series and it inspired me to go through more of your blog. A very interesting and enjoyable blog - and some excellent photography as well. Thanks.

Thank you! I try to keep it light-hearted

[Steve M Hostetter]

Ken Burns is God and PBS is heaven,,! I always wanted to say that but thought ppl might think I was crazy

[rdenney]

Bill, I really enjoyed what you had to say...I also enjoyed the other comments. For me the inspiration to photograph came from viewing some of Howard Bond's work. Sadly I must now admit this was only a beginning and off on the wrong track as I see it today. So many photographers are into making those "pretty" pictures that you mentioned. While those may be beautiful and in some cases awe inspiring, they have very little to do with man and the conditions of man's life. Before one can run on a track they must find a track to run on. In my opinion "pretty pictures" is not where it is at.

(Emphasis mine.)

Please, there is no single "it". You have an "it", and others have their own "its".

I find that the more we assume the non-animal world is static rather than dynamic, the more it changes before we get a chance to appreciate it. Beautiful pictures of the natural scene, and artistic representations even of the constructed works of man will have as much historical relevance as pictures of the life humans live. I'm glad that photographers are inspired to photograph both.

Some of my street-photography colleagues think of me as a minor member of the Pretty Rocks School, and I suppose I'm guilty. But I don't feel guilty about it. The images hanging on the walls of our house of those pretty rocks (most not made by me) make our house peaceful and calm--a place of refuge rather than disturbance. Others may find that to be pusillanimous, but so be it.

Rick "whose inspiration comes from a walk in the woods, among the pretty rocks" Denney

[Marko Trebusak]

Please, there is no single "it". You have an "it", and others have their own "its".

I find that the more we assume the non-animal world is static rather than dynamic, the more it changes before we get a chance to appreciate it. Beautiful pictures of the natural scene, and artistic representations even of the constructed works of man will have as much historical relevance as pictures of the life humans live. I'm glad that photographers are inspired to photograph both.

Some of my street-photography colleagues think of me as a minor member of the Pretty Rocks School, and I suppose I'm guilty. But I don't feel guilty about it. The images hanging on the walls of our house of those pretty rocks (most not made by me) make our house peaceful and calm--a place of refuge rather than disturbance. Others may find that to be pusillanimous, but so be it.

Rick "whose inspiration comes from a walk in the woods, among the pretty rocks" Denney

Count me in, Rick! My playing ground is nature and inspiration comes from nature too. Long hikes and amazing views ranging from few cm to grand vistas are where my spirit drinks. I startd as a bird photographer, but when our firs son was born, there wasn't time available for me to sit in hide for few hours, and so I turned my atention to other wonders of my suroundings. I discovered landscape and it doesn't stop to amaze me. When I think of other photographers as my inspiration, Michael Kenna and his photos of Japan and photos of my friend Guy Edwards comes to mind.

I know that photographers are different and their work is different, but I really can't imagine my inspiration for taking heavy gear out of the closet and drag it around for few hours in search of an image would come from some bloody and depressing photo of second world war or any of other such self destructing human behaviours. I know that photos of such events must exist to warn us that we are our worst enemy, but excuse me this kind of photography isn't my cup of tea. There was one of the main fronts of first world war quite close to where I live, but I still only see crystal clear Soča river with it's amazing turquoise coloured water that luckily washed out blood many, many years ago.

Marko

[John Kasaian]

Bill, I really enjoyed what you had to say...I also enjoyed the other comments. For me the inspiration to photograph came from viewing some of Howard Bond's work. Sadly I must now admit this was only a beginning and off on the wrong track as I see it today. So many photographers are into making those "pretty" pictures that you mentioned. While those may be beautiful and in some cases awe inspiring, they have very little to do with man and the conditions of man's life. Before one can run on a track they must find a track to run on. In my opinion "pretty pictures" is not where it is at.

I beg to differ.
If "pretty pictures" inspire awe, then they have a lot to do with man and the conditions of man's life.
Inspiration is finding a track to run on.

[ASRafferty]

Our run of Burns' "The Civil War" started this afternoon on NH Public TV, and I'm indebted to Bill for reminding me recently in this thread that, years after the first time I saw it, there are now other ways to watch it than those I initially had. What a prism is the awareness of photography and photographers that I've acquired since then. Remembering what it felt like for me to stand in a field "assisting" is obviously nothing compared to what the "assistant" at Antietam with Brady must have felt, but it's the only way that I have into that part of the film, which Burns so clearly intended us to notice.

I'll never know enough to appreciate photography like you all do, and I probably don't know what's art and what isn't. But the courage and the fire of the (first?) photojournalist are inspiration enough for me. Bless Ken Burns for insisting that we pay attention to that, amid all of the other beauty in his films.

[jp]

For color outdoor photography (which means digital to me), Eliot Porter is a major inspiration. Not landscapes of grand scale, but outdoor scenes of a variety of scales.

I also appreciate sports photography. Sports is perhaps the most challenging task of local photojournalism expertise. It's full of surprises, challenges, fleeting situations and sports talent, and emotion. It's not a color or B&W task, and you can't really appreciate sports photography unless you've done it for a couple seasons.

For black and white, which is LF for me now, it's quite a bit more mixed, but I tend to appreciate the goals of straight photography quite a bit. But I'm still experimenting and trying to be well rounded when it comes to photographic possibilities.